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Last Chance for Art of the Short Story Intensive Class

Last Chance for Art of the Short Story Intensive Class at ChuckPalahniuk.net

Update: This class is full. Congratulations to everyone who acted early to secure a spot. Prepare to grab your gear and strap in.

Art of the Short Story - beginning April 18th - is a highly specialized intensive six-week class with six mind-blasting units designed to impart vital craft knowledge in record time. These units work together synergistically to take any serious writer to a new level of story crafting proficiency. The teaching material has been synthesized through years of study and through the accumulated wisdom of several amazing mentors. But I've boiled down all of my best lessons into the core competency areas for compelling short ficiton. Each piece is essential and interconnects. You get all of the high protein fuel and none of the filler.

The magic doesn't happen automatically, of course. You shouldn't jump in if you're not good about finishing things or you've got almost 9,000 responsibilities this spring and your regard for this opportunity will place class participation at 8,999 on your priority list, right after "catch up on favorite TV shows." But if you understand that nothing good will come your way without hard work, then I invite you to join the remaining few who will get this chance. Your dedication means more to your success than your track record or where you currently rank yourself as a writer.

I won't be teaching Art of the Short Story again in the summer. I won't be teaching it in the fall. And there's a very good chance it won't be offerred here again. That's largely because of a new professional role that will be full-time for me starting mid-summer, a role that probably won't allow the dedicated time necessary. So, if you want to get the best of what I've learned through twenty years as an adult student of story craft, the latest seven burning it up right here as Workshop Administrator and Master Class Facilitator for ChuckPalahniuk.net, then please keep reading and click that registration link today. Also, pass this along to a friend.

Thanks,
-Mark Vanderpool

As previous students will attest, this class is not easy. It highlights the intensive part of "cult intensive," for certain. But it's also going to be a lot of fun.

Key craft areas for each of our six weeks include:

Theme, Premise, and Story Argument

Dramatic Conflict: Finding the Stakes

Characterization: How your story people are shaped by experience and belief and how they show it.

Dialogue: Learn to make it ring true and what it should and should not do.

Story Arc: Where is this bus taking us? Will we be happy when we get there?

Start Date:April 18, 2011Limited Enrollment: No more than 18 seats will be sold. Definite Goal: You will wrap up this workshop with two publishable short stories.Qualified Instructor: Learn from the Master Student and acrobatic synthesizer of craft knowledge. Mark Vanderpool (forum name: vigorous puppy) recruits our guest instructors and organizes all of our classes. He has apprenticed himself to every Cult Master Class Teacher we've played host to in the past and sponged up their knowledge and secrets like no other. A published poet and collegiate playwright prior to his days at The Cult, Mark is now becoming known for prose fiction. Consistent with his earliest job in radio, he also has the communication skills of a broadcast journalist. Mark will be critiquing your work and available for telephone consulations, as well.

Art of the Short Story is six weeks of adventure and learning experience you don't want to miss. The list price is $395, but the Early Bird Discount saves a whopping 25% through April 15th, making your educational investment only $296.25 if you register right away. Hurry, as seats are limited to bring focus and allow for extensive critique. Enter coupon code: dedication at checkout.

Register Today

Endorsements for previous classes with this instructor:

Art of The Short Story was the most intense learning experience of my writing life thus far, and definitely the most challenging. I’ve taken 3 classes with The Cult, and Art of The Short Story was the first time that I was able to go somewhere Greater than where I had envisioned myself going as a writer by the end of the class. I feel that I’ve advanced not only as a writer, but in my understanding of the craft. I’m much more confident now when approaching a story, and while I’m the one who puts in the work, I credit Mark and Art of The Short Story for the writer that I am today. The class promotes the notion of finishing with at least 2 “ready for publication” stories, and already I’ve heard back that one of my stories from the class will be published this summer. Not only that, but you’ll craft more than 2 stories during the stretch of the class –I wrote 5 altogether and feel that my other four have an equal chance of finding a home. I couldn’t be happier with the results of this class.

–Nathan Pettigrew, Boston, Massachusetts.

I took part in the first one [Zen Mind Beginning Fiction Course] and was very happy. The knowledge that Vig imparts is second to none, and he will exceed any expectations you might have.

There is nowhere else in the world where someone with his level of experience will give you one on one feedback for this kind of money.

If you are a person that thinks that you might be a good writer, but are unsure of how to get a story started or finished this is the workshop for you. If you are already an accomplished writer, it is also a great way to refresh some fundamentals and maybe pick up something new.-Jason C., Conyers, Georgia

I've been writing for several years, but this past fall I took a Zen Mind Beginners course (despite the fact that I wouldn't have considered myself a "beginner" writer). I cannot really explain what the lecture, assignments and participation did for me as a writer, but I pumped out some of my best ever work while taking that course, and I'm still writing strong. I've also met some wonderful new writer friends who still keep me motived, even now that the course is long over.-Rebecca, Kamloops, B.C.

I cannot begin to explain how much enjoyment I drew from the two workshops I was in (Zen Mind and Craig Clevenger). It surprised me how much interaction there was, how much feedback I received, and the overall positive, friendly and non-competitive environment they provided. It was a pleasure to exchange tips, feedback, to see how everyone responded to a prompt and learn from that. I definitely have noticed an improvement in my writing, and new awareness of elements that make it work or not. It was money well spent, time well spent. The workshops were intensive, yes, but that's what I expected. Right now I am almost certain that one of the stories I wrote for the Zen Workshop ("Exorcism") will get published in Fiction International (I am making some revisions). I am also in the process of finding other journals, but I'm sure more publications will result from what I produced during the two workshops.-Liana V., McAllen, TX

Aside from learning at The Cult being the fastest and most complete ramp up into the skills you need to be a successful writer, it's also a breeding ground for writers from any level, to meet, share, and develop the friendships that KEEP you writing once you've started.

This would be the first and only place I'd send someone interested in really honing their skills as a writer.-Sam Hawley, (Blinkjosie)
Gold Coast, Australia

Art of the Short Story is six weeks of adventure and learning experience you don't want to miss. The list price is $395, but the Early Bird Discount saves a whopping 25% through April 15th, making your educational investment only $296.25 if you register right away. Hurry, as seats are limited to bring focus and allow for extensive critique. Enter coupon code: dedication at checkout.

Register Today

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